Shloka 34

Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī

Devanagari script

शार्दूलचर्मवसनं दिव्यमालासमन्वितम् / त्रिशूलपाणिं दुष्प्रेक्ष्यं योगिनं भूतिभूषणम्

Transliteration

śārdūlacarmavasanaṃ divyamālāsamanvitam / triśūlapāṇiṃ duṣprekṣyaṃ yoginaṃ bhūtibhūṣaṇam

Translation

لابسًا جلد النمر، متحليًا بإكليلٍ سماوي، قابضًا على الرمح الثلاثي (التريشولا) بيده—عسيرَ النظر—يوغيًّا كانت زينته الرماد المقدّس (فيبهوتي).

Word by Word

• शार्दूल-चर्म-वसनम्: clad in a tiger-skin garment
• शार्दूल-चर्म-वसनम्: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शार्दूल (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + वसन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (शार्दूलस्य चर्म वसनम्) विशेषण

• दिव्य-माला-समन्वितम्: endowed with a divine garland
• दिव्य-माला-समन्वितम्: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + माला (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्-अन्-वि (धातु/कृदन्त ‘समन्वित’)
• Form: क्त (PPP) ‘समन्वित’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषार्थः ‘दिव्यया मालया समन्वितम्’

• त्रिशूल-पाणिम्: one who has a trident in his hand
• त्रिशूल-पाणिम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिशूल (प्रातिपदिक) + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (त्रिशूलः पाणौ यस्य)

• दुष्प्रेक्ष्यम्: hard to behold
• दुष्प्रेक्ष्यम्: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्- (उपसर्ग) + प्रेक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्य/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive) ‘hard to look at’; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• योगिनम्: the yogin
• योगिनम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भूति-भूषणम्: whose ornament is sacred ash
• भूति-भूषणम्: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूति (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (भूतिः एव भूषणम्)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration describing the manifested deity; Shaiva form presented within Kurma Purana’s Hari-Hara synthesis)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Trishula
• Vibhuti
• Yogin

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

By portraying the Lord as the Yogin—radiant and “hard to gaze upon”—the verse points to the transcendent Self that surpasses ordinary perception, yet can be intuited through yogic realization rather than sensory sight.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The emphasis is on the ideal of the Yogin: renunciation (tiger-skin, ash), inner mastery, and awe-inspiring concentration—traits associated with Pāśupata-oriented discipline and meditative absorption in the Lord as the supreme ascetic.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Though the imagery is distinctly Shaiva (trident, ash, tiger-skin), it appears within the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology, where the supreme deity is approached through both Shaiva and Vaishnava symbols, affirming Hari-Hara non-sectarian unity.